The first screenings in the U.S. started a couple hours ago and it comes out tomorrow, so I'm interested in hearing what you all think of it. I won't get to see it for a couple more days, but I've already spoiled myself with a lot of the plot and I'd like to see what other fans think about it. Star Wars was a huge part of my childhood and I love all 6 films so I'm excited to see how this one goes.

So what do you think? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me know what you thought about it.

Pretty good for the most part, don't know if I'd say it's as good as the original trilogy but easily better than the prequels.

Spoiler: Major spoilers do not read

It's obvious they borrowed a lot from New Hope but it works. The actual planet being a massive superweapon was a neat twist (though if the First Order knew where the Resistance base was all along, why didn't they just shoot that first instead of a bunch of other planets?), but I really hope they're done with Death Stars after this.

R2-D2 being out of power for no reason and then miraculously coming back at the very end to provide the rest of the map was a major ass-pull and my biggest complaint about the film.

I do hope Poe gets a bit more screen time in the next movie, it seemed like he was going to be a major character but then he disappeared at the beginning and just showed up again 2/3rds of the way through to fly an X-wing in a couple scenes.

Very decent. Ace Attorney people I'm just gonna go ahead and turn this into a ranking order. My rankings are:

III > V = VI > VII > I > II > IV.

Weird order, I know.

I have some major beefs with VII but at the end of the day it's a beautifully shot and well directed movie that just has some writing issues that may or may not be its undoing as it starts expanding on it in later films. The second half of its problems is how iterative and carbon-copied it is from earlier films. I don't know what I think about the fan service. Several points throughout the movie I wondered about how I would feel if Han Solo and old-timer company would've been completely new and original characters instead. It's their status of legendary that's important to the plot. I felt the emphasis placed on the returning cast was akin to Phoenix in Apollo Justice. They got too much focus and plot-importance and it took away from the original cast ever so slightly.

Another flaw is that it basically copies the plot of A New Hope in too many ways. The trademark big battle felt forced and forgettable, and the (literally) biggest threat was too easily taken down and not explained or introduced well enough.

Okay, I think that's about all the negative stuff I had. As for the rest, I thought the writing was lively in a way no movie of the prequel trilogy could ever come close to, the action is great and I've never felt this much "weight" and physicality to battles, whether it's lightsabers or blasters, in a Star Wars movie. Also, while I had gripes with the story, it really just set up the new cast and a new mysteries as well as expectations that the sequels can play off on to great effect (hopefully). There's also good moments of victory as well as tragedy. The drama however is in Soap Opera territory, but honestly I can live with that unless it goes overboard in the sequels. The new central villain figure is also great and by far the most original thing about the movie, and strangely he made me laugh a few times, and I still can't tell whether that humor was intended or not.

Overall, decent for sure. The greatest Star Wars ever? Not in a million lightyears. The worst ever? Thank god we'll always put some of the prequel movies down there for the others to stand tall on.

PS. I have some very critical thoughts about more specific things I'd like to get into, but I won't go into spoilers here. I'll just say it has to do with the premise and how well this movie continues the closed plot of the original trilogy. It left me with many questions about things that are not obvious nor explained but seem really important and I can't help but feel this was too contrived. Perhaps there was no way around that when you reboot a story that was already finished.

It's a great film, the praise it's getting is well-deserved. It's got it flaws but it's nothing major and it shouldn't ruin your viewing unless you're particularly nitpicky about these kinds of things. The highlight for me was Finn. The guy playing him is a great actor and his raw energy brought the movie to life.

I liked it on its own merits, even as someone who has only seen the original trilogy twice. The parallels to A New Hope were a bit too on-the-nose for my liking, and it feels a tad incomplete as of right now, but hey, that's what episode 8's for right? I think my opinion on ep 7 will solidify when I see the next films, but until then, it's fun enough.

I loved it. I saw it twice. It was - a bit "safe", story-wise, but honestly more than anything that felt like an... apology for the prequels. I'm sure it'll diverge more significantly in VIII - but TFA, as it was, was a wonderful movie. Rey, Finn, and Poe are worthy inheritors of Star Wars protagonistship, and I loved them and their interactions and their interactions with returning characters.

I just. love Star Wars a lot. And this felt like what Star Wars should be.

Never watching Rogue One. It has no Star Wars vibe to it and something seems incredibly dry about it. Throw the fact that I've heard it has some blatant fanservice in there too and I just think I'll remain a more believing and nostalgic Star Wars fan by SKIPPING IT.

Force Awakens was good but also really flawed. It has strong potential but undermines itself by shying away from proper development or overempowering Rey instead of developing her, thus making her unrelatable as a character, and Finn stands in her shadow in the process after his interesting and novel beginnings of breaking away from his Neo-Empire ways. The idea of these cool kids catching up to the legends of Han and Luke and Leia (RIP Carrie Fisher :'( ) is excellent, reminds me of Apollo Justice in the dumbest possible way, and lastly the movie is well shot and pops in your mind very vividly upon reflection which is good. I think JJ Abrams has a weakness when it comes to action. Every scene features someone running towards the camera or something else. The pacing is too quick. As I said, it's too shy to really open up to you and skips over all the "unpleasant" stuff except for one moment which then feels strangely forced when everything else was so lighthearted.

There's potential for something in all 3 main characters but they have to be careful about Rey. I almost want them to retcon her force powers but that would just feel cheap as well. I'm not sure what Ryan Johnson will do for future movies -- I have to admit I'm a bit skeptical he's going to make it patronizing in some attempt to be "smart" or something given how his previous movies are all these pseudo-something flicks with stupid gimmicks and needless complexity, r/WritingPrompts style or Christopher Nolan style. I want Star Wars to remain simple yet effective, speaking to reductive but striking truths via its metaphors for Good and Evil and I want there to be memorable lightsaber fights, spaghetti western elements and romantic subplots. I want it to be a goddamn space opera as it should be.

I guess this is an appropriate time to resurrect this thread, what with the new movie now out.

I enjoyed it a lot. It definitely has its flaws, but I liked the new direction the film was going in. Most of my complaints are spoilery, so I'll tag them.

Spoiler: TLJ Spoilers

Might as well get the flaws out of the way first. The pacing is incredibly bizarre at times. It feels like a book with 2-3 events going on at once, and once person A is at a critical moment, it switches over to person B. It can be a bit jarring, especially in the middle where it gets a bit drawn out.

The plot is rather Star Trek-ish, especially in the first two thirds. The whole "running out of fuel" thing feels really weird. Like, didn't they just evacuate? Did they not fill the fuel tanks? Still, I enjoyed what they did with it. Having Poe and Holdo (I think that's her name) have conflicting viewpoints was really cool, especially since Poe was ultimately in the wrong. Still, why the hell didn't Holdo just tell him what was going on? Was she afraid he was a rebel spy or something?

Now, onto the most common complaint for the film: Finn and Rose. I personally enjoyed their little adventure. A lot of people think it was unnecessary (especially considering it ultimately went nowhere plot-wise) but I still liked it. It felt like a Clone Wars episode, and considering how much I loved CW I had no issue with it. Finn's fight with Phasma was pretty cool as well. Also, I liked the fact that Finn didn't die at the end. Everything was building up for his death, and then Rose comes in and saves his ass. The whole Rose-loves-Finn thing was a bit out of nowhere, but it didn't ruin the film for me. I'm surprised they didn't kill off Rose.

The Rey-Kylo relationship was really cool. Seeing them talk to each other through the force, temporarily join forces, and then split apart again was a great storyline. The fight scene in Snoke's chambers was epic. Speaking of Snoke, holy shit was he a let-down. I mean, everyone thought he'd have some sort of huge impact on the plot. And then he just...dies. Whee.

Hamill really sold Luke's character well, and it's without a doubt his best performance IMO. Luke in general was really awesome in this movie, and his scene with Yoda was fantastic. Not surprised he died though. Leia was great too, and I'm surprised she didn't die. Her doing the superman back to the ship was trippy as hell though. Not sure if that was supposed to be dumb, or just bad editing.

I think that's everything. Overall, I think it's a great movie. Not as good as VI, but I'd say it's about equal with VII. 9.5/10

I was going to give some thoughts on The Last Jedi a month ago, but then I decided to go back and watch every other film in the series.

Spoiler: Star Wars/A New Hope

Not much to say, it lays a solid foundation for the next couple of movies.Han shot first.

Spoiler: The Empire Strikes Back

Despite the victory over the Death Star, the Rebellion has had to consistently flee from the Empire. The current outpost is one battered by blizzards and giant yetis. Great way of showing the current state of the Rebellion.I really don't buy the Han and Leia romance.

Spoiler: Return of the Jedi

Compared to the last film, this one starts with the focus being rescuing Han from Jabba, not the most enticing beginning. Also slave Leia was completely unnecessary.Ewoks are tolerable at best.

Spoiler: The Phantom Menace

I didn't grow up knowing Darth Vader was this ultimate badass villain, so seeing him as a child didn't "ruin" Star Wars for me. Watching it again, it still doesn't. It's not what my ideal Vader backstory, but I don't vehemently deny it.The Darth Jar Jar theory makes a surprising amount of sense.

Spoiler: Attack of the Clones

Okay, yes, Hayden Christensen's line delivery is awful and unnatural, but I put the blame on awful directing.

Spoiler: Revenge of the Sith

The memes almost turned this one into a comedy. That said, the scene at the end of the duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan was still legitimately emotional.

Spoiler: Rogue One

First time I watched this, I wasn't too thrilled. It was obvious that everyone was going to die.Second time, it's my favorite. It has the perfect pacing out of every movie, the right intensity for the action, and while the main heroes aren't as fleshed out as the original heroes, I was still invested in following their journey.The last two minutes, oh yes, those last two minutes.

Spoiler: The Force Awakens

Eh, it's okay.

Spoiler: The Last Jedi

Poor communication kills the Resistance.Please don't include a love triangle in the next movie.I actually like the reveal that Rey's parents are just nobodies.Luke smugly wiping off dust after being "shot" by the First Order was the most badass moment in the film. I remember at least one other person in the theater going "ooohhh."Finn crashing into the battering ram would not have destroyed it, not to mention it was slowing down as it approached it. #RoseDidNothingWrongThe problem, though, is that it puts the Resistance in an extreme disadvantage for the next movie. At the end of ESB, we had the reveal of Vader is Anakin, but the Rebellion was still a functional fleet. Here, the entire remaining Resistance fits into the Falcon. It could take years before the Resistance regains any ground, let alone the high ground.

"It's never too late to learn that growing old doesn't have to mean growing up. Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough." -Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

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